1 / 21

Understanding Effort Reporting in Higher Education: A Guide for Faculty

This report provides a comprehensive overview of effort reporting at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. It defines key concepts like effort, outlines types of effort (direct-charged, cost-shared, proposed, and committed), and explains the importance of documenting the time faculty devote to professional activities. It highlights federal requirements, risks of non-compliance, and best practices for minimizing audit issues. Faculty members need to understand how to accurately report their effort to ensure proper compensation and compliance with regulations.

zoe-bowen
Télécharger la présentation

Understanding Effort Reporting in Higher Education: A Guide for Faculty

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. EFFORT REPORTING University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth February 17, 2011

  2. Objectives Definition Types Principles Regulations Risks .

  3. What is Effort? • Proportion of time spent on professional activities (research, teaching, administration, and service) • Expressed as a percentage of the total professional activity for which an individual is employed by the institution

  4. Key concept!!! • Faculty effort not calculated on a 40-hour workweek

  5. Types of Effort • Direct-charged effort • Cost-shared effort • Proposed effort • Committed effort

  6. Direct-Charged vs. Cost-Shared Effort • Direct-Charged Effort: charged directly to a Funding Agency through the payroll • Cost-Shared Effort: expended towards a project, and the salary is not recovered from the project

  7. Proposed vs. Committed Effort • Proposed effort: amount of effort (in %) that is proposed in any sponsored project application, regardless of whether salary support is requested. • Committed effort: amount of effort (in %) promised by the institution in the proposal or the amended effort (in %) included in the award documentation.

  8. What is Effort Reporting? • Method of documenting the proportion of time devoted to these professional activities as a percentage of total professional activity. • Means that Federal agencies have to verify that salary dollars were charged properly, either direct-charged or cost-shared

  9. What kind of effort needs to be reported? • All employees who have salary or wages charged or cost-shared to sponsored project • All effort the University compensates the individual • Sponsored Activities • All effort expended on sponsored projects and cost shared • Institutional Activities • Department Administration • Instruction and unsponsored scholarly activity • Academic setting for faculty (Teaching, research, service, advising) • Clinical activity

  10. Principles of Effort Reporting • Based on actual university activities, but can be reasonably estimated • “After the fact” • Timing • Percentages of total time (100%) regardless of number of hours. • Includes all effort expended to meet commitments as a faculty member (hours will vary from person to person!)

  11. Faculty Effort Reporting • Faculty instructional effort and research effort are often inseparable (“inextricably intermingled”) • Faculty “research” effort often includes administrative (indirect) activities, e.g., proposal development • 100% effort is confusing

  12. Why do we have to have effort reporting? • It is a Federal requirement!! • OMB A-21 • OMB A-110 • A-133 Audit • Indirect Cost Proposal • Verify that salaries paid were warranted and effort commitments were met • Provides support for salary charged to grants and contracts • Labor is the largest percentage of direct research costs on proposal budgets

  13. OMB Circular A-21 Section J10. • Distribution of activity expended by employees, as a percentage • Reasonably reflect and a reasonable estimate of the work performed by the employee during the period • Suitable means of verification • Confirmation of personnel costs charged to sponsored agreements • Certification of all employee activities on an integrated basis(i.e., 100% effort)

  14. What’s at risk? • Audit findings/cost disallowances • High-Risk Organization designation • Corrective Action Plan required • Temporary withholding of payments or future awards

  15. Significant Risks of Non-Compliance • Impact on the university: • May owe direct cost refunds and payment of fines • Affect future funding with sponsors • Bad publicity • Impact on the individual: • Possible criminal and civil charges • Payment of fines

  16. University Audit Settlements • University of Minnesota: $32 M • Northwestern University: $5.5M • Thomas Jefferson University: $2.6M • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: $920K • University of Chicago: $650K (PI paid $400K)

  17. National Science Foundation • Funds ~$1.3 billion annually for compensation at universities * • NSF Office of Inspector General (OIG) audited 30 Universities • NSF OIG’s goals were to: • Assess the adequacy of internal controls • Determine if salaries and wages were allowable, allocable, and reasonable *June 2007 “Report on Research Compliance”

  18. Common Themes from NSF Audits • Timeliness • Education and training programs • “Suitable means of verification” • “Independent internal method for ensuring the system’s effectiveness” (A-21 requirement)

  19. Common Themes from NSF Audits (cont’d) • Significant changes and updates to payroll distribution • 5% Variance threshold • Key personnel – required minimum effort and imputing cost sharing for the F&A proposal • Voluntary commitments in proposals • Summer effort and salary

  20. How can we Minimize Risk and Audit Findings? • Revise policy-keep it simple!! • Define “significant” change in effort • Define roles & responsibilities • Manage the high-risk areas • Avoid explicit cost sharing commitments in proposals • Training is needed for administrators and PIs • Implement an Independent Internal Evaluation of Your Effort Reporting Process • Instructions & information must be more readily accessible

  21. Thank you! • Contact: Amy Gustavsson Manager-Reporting, Cost Analysis and Compliance • Phone 617-496-4771 • Email Amy_Gustavsson@harvard.edu

More Related